Stuffies
by badly-knitted
Summary: Ianto has found something unexpected in the archives; what should he do with it? Written for Prompt 465: Stuffed, at slashthedrabble.


**Title:** Stuffies

 **Author:** badly-knitted

 **Characters:** Ianto, Jack.

 **Rating:** G

 **Spoilers:** Nada.

 **Summary:** Ianto has found something unexpected in the archives; what should he do with it?

 **Word Count:** 705

 **Written For:** Prompt 465: Stuffed, at slashthedrabble.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.

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"What have you got there?" Jack asked as Ianto emerged from the archives, something grey and fuzzy tucked under one arm.

Ianto rolled his eyes. "What does it look like?"

"Well, unless I'm very much mistaken it looks like a toy seal."

"There you go then, you've answered your own question." Ianto smirked at his lover.

"Never took you for the stuffed animal type," Jack said mildly.

"You'd be surprised. Have you met my teddy bear?" Ianto asked with a grin. Then he shrugged. "I was going through the contents of one of the side rooms and found a box labelled 'Seal'. This," he held up the stuffed toy, "was not what I was expecting to find in it. Call me curious, but I was wondering why a cuddly toy was being stored down there years, probably even decades, after whatever residual Rift energy it might once have been soaked in had worn off. I checked before I bought it up with me and there's not so much as the faintest trace left on it."

"You of all people know what it's like down there," Jack pointed out. "New things getting dumped on us at a rate of several a week, some of them dangerous, some of them from the future, and some completely ordinary, like your friend there. Who has time to keep checking the ordinary stuff for Rift energy?"

"I do, or at least I plan to in future. Anything that's of earth origin, from the past or present, and free of Rift energy is going to be carted off to the charity shops, or if it might be worth something, the local auction house. We can donate the proceeds to charity or buy a few luxuries for the people out at Flat Holm."

Jack nodded approvingly. "That sounds like a great plan, if you're sure you don't mind the extra work."

"It's not that much extra, Jack. I have to sort and catalogue everything down there anyway and scanning the occasional item won't take long. I don't know why I never thought about checking Rift energy levels before now, to be honest. I probably should've been doing that all along."

It turned out the seal wasn't the only stuffed toy squirreled away in the archives; over the next couple of weeks Ianto located thirteen more and he soon realised why they'd been so carefully boxed and stored after arrival. Without exception, they'd all come through the Rift years before such toys were first manufactured. They were all of modern design, made from synthetic fur, with plastic eyes and noses. A couple were even battery-operated. Ianto soon had a black bag full of freshly washed toys for the charity shop, and he carted them off there the next time he went to pick up the dry cleaning.

Late that night, after a Rift alert that had kept the two of them running around the city all evening, he and Jack made their weary way down to Jack's quarters, ready to fall into bed for some badly needed rest when Ianto caught sight of something unexpected. There on the bed sat a very familiar looking grey plush stuffed seal.

Ianto picked it up, turning it over in his hands. It was definitely the same one. "Didn't I take this to the charity shop this morning with the others?" he asked, puzzled.

Jack actually blushed. "I took it out of the bag before you left," he admitted. "I liked it, it's cute and cuddly, all soft and squishy, and you said you've got a teddy bear, so why shouldn't I have a stuffed animal too? I never had one as a kid."

Ianto laughed. "Twpsyn. Fine, you can keep your stuffed seal if you want." He set it down on Jack's old steamer trunk; the bed wasn't bit enough for three, even if one of them was a stuffed toy.

"Thank you," Jack said with a happy smile. "But for the record, I still like cuddling you best."

"Good," Ianto replied. He hesitated a moment, then turned the seal to face in the opposite direction. Cute it may be, but he didn't want it staring at him all night long. That would be too creepy.

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The End


End file.
